But declaring open season on the press will most certainly have a chilling effect on free speech and hurt conservative media. The bill stipulates, “If a public figure plaintiff can establish that a published statement is false and that the publisher relied on an anonymous source for the statement, there is a rebuttable presumption that the publisher acted with actual malice in publishing the statement.” So, truthful anonymous sourcing is protected, right? Wrong.

Consider the left’s fetish for lawfare that drags every single aspect of politics into court. Christians, entrepreneurs, and our republican form of government, just to name a few, are all under attack because establishment leftists can force institutions, behavior, and laws to change through litigation.

Once the left sees an opening for attack, they will take it. Creating an avenue through which the left’s vast nonprofit apparatus could more-or-less litigate anything anonymously sourced could tie conservative media up in the courts, draining them of critical resources. Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) — suits used to intimidate and silence people — will undoubtedly be brought forth despite the state’s broad anti-SLAPP protections.

The point of these suits is to drain resources and silence critics. Any legal victory or precedent set that benefits the plaintiff is a second-order success.